Mirrors Within
by Violetcarson
Summary: Blood. Blades. Love. Cookies. A collection of Rurouni Kenshin stories. Most recent ficcage: Eyes On Fire - Kaoru's kind of a creeper. But hey, if you can't ogle attractive men in wet T-shirts, then where's the fun in life?
1. I Will Not Bow

A/N: This will be a repository for Rurouni Kenshin fics I write that stand alone. Which, hopefully, there will be more of.  
This drabble was a post to the community RK_challenge, posted originally on Nov. 12. More on that at the bottom.

Title: I Will Not Bow  
Author: Violetcarson  
Word Count: 448  
Rating: PG/K+  
Summary: Kaoru is driven to prove something to herself, and to him.

* * *

Sweat coated her body like a second skin. It dripped off her fingertips, slid down her back, and beaded on her face. Her body was a raging inferno, heat boiling through her, burning away the desperate emotions that were trying to consume her. She spun her sword in an arc around her, coveting the piercing song the blade sang as it cut through the air. She twisted, and the sword slashed forward at a different angle. Another twist, and the sword was chopping straight down overhead, before slicing away again. She parried the strike from an opponent only she could see, stepping back as she swung, before advancing with a burst of speed. Her stances were perfect. Her weight was solidly divided between each foot, and the movements of her feet never upset her balance. It didn't feel like she was taking steps, it felt as if she was dancing, her entire body moving effortlessly and gracefully through the positions. She extended her sword again, reaching for the invisible opponent, and drew back, balancing on one foot, her sword poised above her for the next strike, and held.

"Release," the man's voice was firm, solid, and as full of sturdy strength as a boulder. Kaoru sank down out of the stance, and sheathed her weapon. She bent her knees, and tried to fall gracefully to the wood floor. Her muscles were shaking from the exertion, and she hungrily sucked in deep lungfuls of air. Her father moved to stand before her from his position at the side of the dojo. He waited until she had regained her breath, and then said, "That was good, much better than before. But you are not making the movements powerful enough. Your form is nearly perfect. Now feel the weight of the actions, feel their power. Repeat the same kata, but with more ferocity." His voice was firm.

She nodded to him. "Yes sir!" She leaped to her feet again, assuming the first stance, hand hovering over her sword's hilt.

He regarded her for a moment, directly in front. Two sets of eyes, the exact same shade of blue, regarded each other before he returned to the wall to observe.

"Begin!"

As Kaoru began the first blocking movements of the form, she forced herself to focus on her body to the extreme. She was power incarnate as she slipped through the moves. Determination fueled her. After all, she now had something to live up to. _I will prove myself_, she thought. The memory of brilliant violet eyes, a mane of red hair, and a tender look drove her. _I will be worthy of you, _she promised the man that haunted her memories.

* * *

A/N: I wrote this with a question in mind. Wouldn't Kaoru, a swordswoman herself, feel obliged to better herself and become stronger in order to stand beside Kenshin, as impossible as that may be?Personally I think that the best way to improve in anything is to have someone to compete with. XD

If you enjoyed this story, please leave a review. Also, you may choose to vote for it at the profile here on ffnet once they post the next voting bit. Please! XD And come by and check out the community on livejournal. It's a lovely place!


	2. Summertime

Title: Summertime  
Author: Violetcarson  
Prompt: Dec – Peace  
Rating: T  
Wordcount: 441  
Summary: A bit of fluffy introspection into a canon Kenshin's mind.  
A/N: The name comes from a song by My Chemical Romance, which I simply adore, and it's also quoted below. I think I'll use it in Green Child as well sometime. Enjoy! Originally posted December 31.

* * *

_Terrified of what I'd be_  
_As a kid from what I've seen_  
_Every single day when people try_  
_And put the pieces back together_  
_Just to smash them down_  
_Turn my headphones up real loud_  
_I don't think I need them now_  
_Cause you stop the noise and_  
_If you stay_  
_I would even wait all night_  
_Or until my heart explodes_  
_How long?_  
_Until we find our way_  
_In the dark and out of harm_  
_You can runaway with me,_  
_Anytime you want_

Kenshin dozed lightly in the stillness of the night. Sleep was not something that had ever come easily to him. He had spent most of his childhood training with the sword, and Hiko had been a master who allowed for little peace. He had grown used to sleeping very lightly, lest his ever enterprising master decide to spring a surprise attack on his pupil as he lay defenseless. The habit had carried easily into his later life, when he spent nearly all of his time finding, and it had never died once he consigned himself to a life spent searching for redemption.

Now he awoke to the rustling of wind lightly stirring against the walls of the dojo he had come to call home. His eyes flashed open in the night, and he held perfectly still as he quickly catalogued all possible threats in the area. Finding none, he tuned the noise of the wind out, determining it to be useless input. He relaxed his rigid muscles and turned his attention to the woman sleeping beside him.

Kaoru. Even her name could make him smile. What had he ever done to deserve her? Absolutely nothing, so far as he could tell. She was beautiful, and strong, and so imperfect he could weep at the joy of it. She was fierce in defense of her comrades at one moment, and in the next she melted his heart with her innocent smile. Now she lay beside him, her lithe body covered by and tangled within the black sheets of their shared futon. Her hair was spread on the cloth around her, nearly blending into the fabric. The only indication it was separate was the soft shine the strands reflected from the slight moonlight filtering into the room. Her breath drifted softly against his shoulder, and she sighed in her sleep, turning her face into his side as he relaxed again.

He drew her against his heart, and closed his eyes. One hand idly twirled soft strands of her hair, and for a moment she came close to consciousness. She murmured something inaudible that was probably a complaint about the cold, and snuggled closer to him in lieu of pulling up the blankets. He smiled to himself, chuckling internally. Before she drifted back into sleep, she pressed a sleepy kiss to the skin of his neck.

Kenshin sighed, curling his arms around her, and sank back into the futon. He lowered his breathing rate, and allowed himself to relax. He soon followed her into sleep, and this time, it was the true sleep he had only ever reached with her. He was at peace.


	3. Tangled

Title: Tangled

Author: Violetcarson

Prompt: Santa Claus

Rating: T (for Smexyness ;) )

Wordcount: 258

Summary: Kenshin gives Kaoru a…gift.

A/N: If you can guess why the title is related to the story, you're a rockstar. XD Originally posted to RK_challenge December 31

Kaoru stared at the box in her hands. This box held her doom. It might literally be the death of her. Or, if not the death of her, then at least the death of her smiling boyfriend. Briefly, she imagined slapping his content little grin right out the window using the box he had given her, but thought better of it. It wouldn't be nearly as satisfying as, say, castration. _Which,_ she thought ruefully, _would definitely fit the circumstances._

She glared at him. "I'm not doing it, Kenshin," she growled.

He continued to smile beatifically. "Ah, but my dear Kaoru, you did promise. You even asked me to pick out something I'd like to see you wear as a gift. I have only done as you asked."

She continued to glare. "You really expect me to wear this? As if you'd even let me out of the house in it." She scoffed, fiercely trying not to blush.

Kenshin's violet eyes lit with a fierce glint, though his face remained peaceful. Those eyes looked predatory. "I never said I wanted you to wear it outside the house."

Kaoru's cheeks burst into flame, and she had to work to control her breathing. _How dare he smolder at me!_

Kenshin smirked as Kaoru flounced off to the bathroom to change. Somehow, he suspected that this Christmas Eve was going to be the best he'd ever experienced. He'd been disillusioned as a child, but Kaoru dressed in the skimpy Santa outfit might just make him a believer in the spirit of Christmas.


	4. One Week Part 1  Eyes on Fire

Title: Eyes On Fire - One Week Part 1

Author: Violetcarson

Rating: T

Summary: Kaoru's kind of a creeper. But hey, if you can't ogle attractive men in wet T-shirts, then where's the fun in life?

Characters/Pairings: KenKao

A/N: Part 1 of 7 of a short drabble series. Originally posted to the RK Challenge community on LJ. Come join us, we always need more writers! Song title is by Blue Foundation.

* * *

Kaoru walked out of her dorm into a drizzling rain. She glared at the sky. Just perfect. Depressing weather, to go with her depressing mood. The universe just had to mock her, didn't it? The first day of the new semester's classes, and her 7th day free of The Bastard, and the world just had to rain some more on her already sodden parade.

She pulled her hoodie tighter around her body and was starting the slow trudge to the closest weight room for her early morning workout when she saw him.

He was out on the grass of the quad, and if she hadn't seen the practice sword in his hand, she would have thought he was dancing. Every move was precise, well-directed, and perfectly aligned. He never paused, each motion sliding into the next as he battled a veritable army of invisible opponents. His red hair was plastered to the skin of his neck, with rain and sweat. Lean muscles rippled and flexed along his arms with each thrust and parry of the blade, and underneath the sheer white tank that stuck to him like a second skin.

Kaoru knew she was staring, but couldn't manage to draw her eyes away. She didn't want to stop looking at this man, with his pretty hair and his pretty sword, and his very, very pretty body. She wanted to feel his damp skin, and drag her fingers through his gorgeous hair and along his neck. She wanted to taste him. She felt alternately more alive than she had in weeks, and terrified that he'd catch her staring. Who is he? The thought wandered idly across her otherwise occupied mind. He wasn't in the fencing club with her (she would have remembered that). Maybe he was in Aikido, or one of the other martial arts groups?

His dance came to an end with a final thrust through the heart of an opponent, and he held the pose for several seconds before lowering his blade. Then he turned his head, and violet eyes flashed at her with amusement. _Oh God! He knew I was watching! _She lingered for a moment, caught in his stare, until he started walking lazily toward her. Then she bolted, walking as fast as she could in the opposite direction, her heart still pounding.

It was early still, and there were few students about. She kept moving, refusing to look behind her, until she reached an alcove in the entrance of one of the buildings. She ducked in and slid against a wall, trying to calm her pulse. She closed her eyes, and the image of his slow grin and twinkling stare caught against the back of her eyelids.

"Well, running away wasn't quite what I expected from the pretty girl who was watching me practice, but I suppose I can forgive you if you tell me your name," said a low voice directly in front of her.

She jumped, eyes flying open. He leaned against the opposite side of the alcove, still grinning.

She gulped. "Um, Kaoru."

His smile widened. "It's nice to meet you Kaoru. I'm Kenshin."


End file.
